


for the first time

by ohsun



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Drabble, First Kiss, Ice Skating, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:07:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28032135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohsun/pseuds/ohsun
Summary: Mark's never been ice skating before. Fortunately his hockey player boyfriend Yukhei is there to help him change that.
Relationships: Mark Lee/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas
Comments: 8
Kudos: 122





	for the first time

**Author's Note:**

> this is written for a little wonder fest 23 days of wonder
> 
> day 5 - ice skating.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Mark asks in a light voice. Yukhei’s hands tug on the laces of his skates, looking up at Mark fondly from where he’s kneeling in front of him. 

“No one’s here, I promise babe,” Yukhei says, patting his knee comfortingly, “I checked the schedule, the janitor only comes in on weekends.” 

Getting caught at the ice rink during after hours wasn’t what Mark was worried about. Breaking his bones out on the ice was a more realistic fear to him. 

“I mean the skating,” Mark says, “I’ve never done that before, and you know I’m _really_ clumsy, I’m not good at sports like you-”

“I won’t let you fall,” Yukhei cuts him off, grabbing Mark’s hands. “Don’t you trust me?” 

“I do, it’s just...” Mark doesn’t trust himself, or his own two feet to be more precise. 

His judgement had been a little off ever since Yukhei became a constant in his life. He caught himself attempting a lot of firsts from the moment he met Yukhei, some more successful than others. 

When Yukhei approached him in the library, asking for help to find a certain book, Mark had been shy and helped him with clammy hands. He’d refused to look him in the eyes, until Yukhei had casually asked for his number and he’d gawked at him in shock. He’d never been hit on so casually before, let alone by someone like Yukhei. 

He knew Yukhei from around university, a nice and friendly hockey player who was liked well by everyone. He knew a lot about Yukhei from word that got around, but he hadn’t expected Yukhei to know much about him, let alone his name. 

The conversation is still blurry in his mind - perhaps he’s repressing the memory because it’s simply too embarrassing. Mark is not smooth, he is not a flirt and he has no idea how to handle compliments. Somehow Yukhei had still played the cards right and scored Mark’s number. 

It’s why he’s here tonight. How Yukhei had convinced him to give ice skating a shot he still wasn’t sure, but he was regretting the decision more and more. 

But he’d been nervous for every first that Yukhei had given him. When Yukhei asked him out on a first date, Mark had to regretfully inform him that he had never been on a date before and that he was scared he’d be terrible at it. It turned out he was wrong, because dating wasn’t as hard as his friends had made it seem after teasing him about it for days on end. 

Yukhei had picked him up in his car and they’d gone to a movie and had dinner. None of it had justified how nervous he’d been prior - Mark had enjoyed himself too much to worry about any of that. It was cheesy, but after he’d kissed Yukhei’s cheek when he walked him to his door, he felt a pleasantly tingling feeling in the pit of his tummy. It convinced him that dating wasn’t hard after all. 

The next first had been more difficult. 

Mark had never been kissed, not properly. He’d had shy pecks in high school that he never wanted to think about again - but anything else was foreign territory to him. He understood the dynamics of dating, the development of a relationship and once Yukhei had asked him to officially be his boyfriend, he had kissed him square on the mouth. 

Yukhei had kissed him back just as eagerly, tasting the bottle of wine they’d shared at a restaurant. If Yukhei had noticed it was Mark’s first _real_ kiss, he had been very diplomatic about it and not said a word. Not until after when Mark had mentioned it, casually announcing that it had been his first kiss, had Yukhei commented on it. 

“Oh?” Yukhei had sounded genuinely surprised, searching out Mark’s gaze curiously. 

“Was it that bad?” Mark asks, but Yukhei had reassured him quickly.

“No, it wasn’t bad at all,” Yukhei says, a small smile tugging at his lips, “but maybe next time, try not to kiss me like you’re kissing your mom.” 

“Dude? You kiss your mom like that?” Mark sputtered, before his face fell in shame. Yukhei said he was only joking, but that practice made perfect. They’d gotten a lot of practice that night. 

That _first_ kiss together with the _first_ boyfriend ordeal had given Mark a surge of confidence. Suddenly the other firsts didn’t feel like a big deal anymore, if only because he had Yukhei there to help him. 

Now there is about to be another first for Mark: ice skating. Yukhei had been appalled to hear that Mark couldn’t skate. Being a university team hockey player, Yukhei could not live with the embarrassment that his boyfriend had never even tried skating before. 

So he’d gone out of his way to make sure the rink was empty one evening. He had the keys to the ice hall and easily let the two of them in after closing hours, landing Mark in his current predicament. 

As always, Mark was more than willing to learn for him - except this time he feels maybe he’s biting off more than he can chew. The only sport he played back in high school was chess, his glasses never allowing him to do much else. He had thought it was for the best, given he was a naturally clumsy person. 

He’d never considered ice-skating before Yukhei came into his life and now he knows why. Standing on skates makes his wobbly knees infinitely more shaky even as Yukhei helps him get up. He grabs Yukhei’s bicep, pressing dents into his skin by how hard he’s holding onto him to ensure he doesn’t fall over. 

Yukhei, seemingly invincible even on ice skates, walks backwards with him carefully, kicking open the door to the rink before stepping out onto the ice. Mark remains rigid as he stands in the opening, staring at Yukhei with wide eyes. 

“Come on,” he urges, helping Mark step over the threshold. Mark squeals humiliatingly as the skates touch the ice. Surprisingly that does not feel too foreign, filling him with false confidence that perhaps his balance isn’t so bad after all. 

Things change drastically when Yukhei moves back a little, allowing more space between their bodies and a lot of stability to seep out of Mark’s posture. He tries to inch forward to follow Yukhei, nudging gently with his left foot, but loses his balance and falls forward. He throws his arms around Yukhei’s neck, hoping that he’ll catch him.

Yukhei glides backwards a little, pulling Mark with him as he helps him get steady on his feet again. Mark’s face is flushing red, embarrassed that he can’t keep on his feet without Yukhei’s support. 

“See, I won’t let you fall,” Yukhei promises again. Mark’s sure he won’t, relaxing a little into Yukhei’s hold. He’s strong like any hockey-player, something Mark enjoys very much normally, but is especially thankful of it now that it’s the only thing keeping him from face planting into the ice. 

Gently Yukhei moves them backwards, keeping an eye on Mark’s knees knocking together clumsily as he tries his very best to keep upright. Yukhei smiles at him fondly, but Mark’s too embarrassed to enjoy it, exhaling shakily as he looks up at Yukhei.

It’s more difficult when they’re making eye contact, his balance completely off as he stumbles forward and crashes into Yukhei again. 

“Why is this so hard,” he whines pathetically, furrowing his eyebrows in concentration. It can’t be that hard, Yukhei always making it seem effortless during his games. He can do all this _and_ focus on a game, when Mark can’t even stand upright. 

“It gets easier, I promise,” Yukhei lies, as he must know it doesn’t get easier for someone with this poor coordination. 

“Come here, let me help you,” Yukhei offers, suddenly moving his hands down to Mark’s waist instead. His large hands can hold it just fine, almost encircling it fully as he grabs it. He skates over so he’s beside Mark, giving him a small push to inch him forward. 

He takes a careful step, still a little wobbly. Yukhei’s hands keep him upright, steadying him as he takes another few careful strides, easily gliding out over the ice. 

One is a little too enthusiastic, flailing with his hands as he loses his balance again, nearly hitting Yukhei in the face. Yukhei’s support is unwavering, helping him stay on his feet even if he almost teeters over. 

“You’re okay,” Yukhei assures him quickly. 

Mark breathes nervously, glancing to the side. It’s a big mistake, because it means he also loses his footing and topples right forward against Yukhei’s chest. They skirt back over the ice until Yukhei’s back is against the barrier and Mark’s knees give in, putting him on the ice with his face planted forward into Yukhei’s hip. 

“Oops,” Mark breathes, pulling away a little to look up into Yukhei’s eyes. It’s not the most flattering position he’s ever been in, kneeling between Yukhei’s legs on the cold ice. 

“Are you okay?” Yukhei asks, frowning in concern. Mark flushes under his gaze, nodding. His knees only hurt a little and it’s most the burn from his jeans dragging against them. 

“I’m fine,” he agrees. Yukhei leans down to grab his sides, lifting him back up to his feet. It should be a little intimidating how easily he picks him up but Mark clings to him happily, afraid he’ll fall again. 

“Okay, you’re kind of bad,” Yukhei admits after a moment of silence. “Maybe it’s just not for you.” 

“No, it’s really not,” Mark agrees a little shakily. He glances over at the gate to the rink, realising that in all their stumbling they’d gotten quite far away from it. 

“That’s okay,” Yukhei assures. “I’ll help you back.” 

He does, carefully grabbing Mark’s waist and crowding up behind him. He gently skates the two of them forward, Mark just standing in front of him, letting himself be guided back.

Once he has solid ground under his feet again he exhales in relief, clumsily making his way over to the bench and falling down on it in a final defeated blow. 

He looks at the ground shamefully. It’s the first _first_ with Yukhei that he doesn’t excel at, that actually goes horribly wrong. It’s also a really important thing to Yukhei, hockey and skating - and Mark is exceptionally bad at it.

“Sorry,” he murmurs silently, eyes glued to the ground. Yukhei kneels down in front of him again, hands coming to work on the laces of his skates. 

“Don’t be ridiculous, that was fun - I had a lot of fun,” Yukhei promises. “I kind of figured you’d be bad at skating, you have horrible balance.” 

“I can’t believe you still made me do this,” Mark mumbles, expression softening a little at Yukhei’s fond tone. 

“It was fun,” Yukhei says, “but I think I prefer you cheering for me on the bleachers.” 

That is something that Mark _can_ do. It had been another first - attending a school hockey game. Donghyuck had teased him endlessly for it, wondering what the fuck Mark was doing at hockey game when he’d never shown any interest in the sport or university’s team spirit. 

He was bothering him about it all night, right to the point of the first intermission where Yukhei came up to the barrier, waving Mark over to talk to him. Donghyuck had frowned, wondering what Yukhei could possibly want from Mark. He’d told him they were friends but hadn’t gone into details about it, knowing Donghyuck wouldn’t let him live if he’d admitted he was dating Yukhei. 

Still Mark had made his way through the seats, excusing himself when avid supporters wouldn’t budge and he had to awkwardly squeeze past them. Yukhei didn’t have much time, yelling something over his shoulder to the rest of his team already leaving the rink. Mark ran the last of the way there, ducking past some slow walkers to get to Yukhei. 

Yukhei beams at him, flipping up the cage of his helmet before he reaches out to pull Mark in for a hug. Except he does not get a hug, Yukhei’s hands cupping his face and pulling him in for a short kiss. It’s antsy and heated, their lips pressing together rushed and fast, Mark’s hands sinking into Yukhei’s hockey jersey to pull him in closer. 

The barrier presses between them uncomfortably, but Mark still can’t get enough, trying to inch closer as he leans up all the way on his toes to chase his lips. Too soon Yukhei has to pull away, leaving Mark with his heart hammering inside his chest, staring at Yukhei in awe.

He doesn’t get to admire him for long, able to mouth a quick ‘good luck’ before Yukhei has to dash across the ice, following the rest of his team out of the rink. 

When Mark turns back around to look at Donghyuck, he experiences another first. He’s never seen his best friend look quite this clueless, glaring at him with an open mouth, shaking his head in disbelief. As funny as it looks, Mark can’t help but feel a little nervous as he pads back up the bleachers, sitting down in the seat next to Donghyuck, who declares he can’t believe Mark really got his _first_ boyfriend without telling him about it. 

He thinks about it now, watching Yukhei help him out of his skates again. With him, he’s not afraid to try all these things - he’s _happy_ to try something new, because he has plenty of trust that Yukhei will take care of him. 

Even now, when Yukhei technically _did_ let him fall - he was right there to catch him and help him back up. 

“Thanks for helping me,” Mark says when Yukhei finishes untying his skates, helping him out of them. He grabs his shoes and slips them back on, grateful to have something sturdy under his feet again. 

Maybe ice skating wasn’t for him, and maybe it wasn’t the end of the world. There were enough things he _was_ good at and Yukhei seemed to like him just fine for that. Besides - there were many things they hadn’t tried yet, and Mark can’t wait to experience all of them with Yukhei by his side, at their own pace. 

“Of course,” Yukhei says, changing back into his own shoes. “Let’s head home, yeah?”

Mark agrees, holding Yukhei’s hand as they walk home together. 

**Author's Note:**

> i decided to post this one here since it's rather long, but you can find my other a little wonder drabbles on my twitter account @ohsunwrites.


End file.
